Culinary Arts

I have always enjoyed watching the food channel especially those shows where chefs compete against each other to make the best dishes. But I never imagined myself actually competing and cooking. When the teacher told me that I was in the team I only thought of cooking and eating of course. I never imagine that Culinary Arts could teach me so many new things for my future. Culinary Arts taught me to be patient, punctual, and a leader. These characteristics are important to have for the future.
Being patient had never been a real part of me. I always wanted things to come out perfect the first time. Since I had no real experience cooking I had to practice many times until it was perfect. At first it was hard because I would get irritated easily but after I learned that cooking took time, it was easier. I had never heard of a julienne so when I heard that I was going to be doing the julienne cut I was scared at first. The size on the julienne had to be perfect and I had to learn to cut it fast. The first couple of times I was not able to do it correctly, but after a lot of practice I finally got it. This was one of the cuts that made me be patient. I learned to not get irritated easily, and to never give up. These characteristics are important factor for one to become patient. Being patient will help me in my career, I want to be an architect and an architect needs to be very patient.
If I want to be an architect I have to be punctual to my appointments. Punctuality is important for anyone especially if one is applying for a job. I always try to be punctual to appointments and practices. Being punctual was important for culinary arts’ practice. The sooner we all got there the faster we would get started and more time we had to go over our mistakes and try to fix them. Since practices were right after school I always tried to hurry and get to practice as soon as possible. Sometimes I would have to stay after class to finish something so I had to inform the teacher somehow. I have never liked arriving late to an appointment or practices. I believe that having the characteristic of punctuality is an important one to have because it shows that one is responsible, committed and reliable.
The role of being a leader is hard role to play. I had experience being a leader before but I didn’t realize how difficult it could get until I joined the Culinary Arts team. I wanted my team to win or at least get placed in the competitions. I set my goals that we would at least go to state and place. Since I had set my mind to placing I knew that I had to tell my teammates in order for us to succeed. I the team there was only four people; we were the best cookers out of the class. One of my teammates was participating just for fun they didn’t work as hard as I wanted them to. I knew that someone besides the teacher had to take the role of being the leader or captain in the team. Since no one was acting or being a leader I stepped up and began to be one. I encouraged them to work harder and to try their best at what they were doing. I would help them when I could and sometimes I would tell them what they were doing wrong. Sometimes I felt that they got irritated with me and other times they appreciated my help. It was hard to gain the respect I believed I needed. But I would always give it my all to demonstrate that I really wanted this. At times I got frustrated because things would not come out the way I wanted them to. During completion days if someone messed up I would encourage them to practice again until they perfected it while my other teammates would get all mad at them. I also talked to the other that would get mad because I knew that if we argued with each other our team would fall apart. I think that I did a great job of keeping the team together.
After being in the Culinary Arts team I realized how many knew things I had learned. I learned that sometimes being a leader is not as easy as it seems, that being on time is important in any occasion, and that in order to have patience you have to experience it. I know that all these characteristics that I gained will help me throughout my life and especially in my career.